Category: 5. Entertainment

Jon Hamm, Anna OsceolaPhoto: Mikey DeTemple

The skies were grey. Then moody. Then, miraculously, golden. As the clock struck five on Saturday evening, the clouds over Lake Montauk parted and the sun beamed down—just in time for Loro Piana’s chic cocktail gathering at the Crow’s Nest.

Among the first to arrive were Alexandra Daddario and Jon Hamm—two of the evening’s most star-studded guests. Daddario, dressed in a pale seafoam pleated skirt and soft white knit, made herself right at home at the backgammon table, diving into a match with a fellow guest as though it were the most glamorous tournament in town. Hamm, fresh off the news that his Apple TV+ series had been renewed, held court near one of the beachside lounge setups, trading stories and charming absolutely everyone within reach. His wife, Anna Osceola, stood nearby in a minimalist ivory dress and slouchy sweater, a study in coastal polish.

To toast the season (and subtly debut its Resort 2025 and new eyewear collections), Loro Piana transformed the lakefront stretch of sand into an elevated playground. Wicker lounges sat atop woven seagrass carpets, white-upholstered sofas flanked by the brand’s signature Art of Good Living touches—cashmere-lined backgammon sets and leather-trimmed Connect Four games artfully arranged for play.

Naturally, Loro Piana had dressed many of the evening’s guests, turning the crowd into a softly sunlit palette of beige, greige, and perfectly pleated linen. And when the sun made its theatrical entrance, the brand’s new sunglasses—gifted to attendees—ensured no one was left squinting.

As DJ Bec Adams spun a breezy set and spritzes were passed around, guests like Will Arnett, Cynthia Rowley, Carolyn Tate Angel, Iana Godnia, Casey Fremont, and Alejandra Alonso Rojas settled in to enjoy the scene. With the tide gently rolling in and the sky streaked pink and lavender, the evening captured what Loro Piana does best: quiet elegance with a sense of place.

Gavin Adcock’s album My Own Worst Enemy is in the top five on Apple Music’s country albums chart, but he’s not too happy that Beyoncé‘s 2024 album Cowboy Carter is currently above his own ranking.

In a video of footage from one of Adcock’s recent concerts, the singer/songwriter gave some harsh, unfiltered opinions about the fact that Cowboy Carter sits at No. 3 on Apple Music’s country albums chart, while his own project follows closely at No. 4. (Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem reigns at No. 1, while Parker McCollum’s self-titled project is at No. 2.)

In the clip, Adcock is discussing the albums that are ahead of his on the chart. “One of them’s Beyoncé — you can tell her we’re coming for her f—in’ a–,” Adcock said, eliciting roaring cheers from his audience.

“That sh– ain’t country music and it ain’t ever been country music, and it ain’t gonna be country music,” he continued, raising his bottle of alcohol in the air and pointing to the crowd.

From there, Adcock said, “We’re about to play y’all some Southern f—in’ rock,” telling his band, “Y’all hit that sh–, boys,” before launching into the next song in his set.

On June 30, Adcock posted a video on his Instagram page, adding context to his comments, but also doubling down on his sentiments.

“I’m gonna go ahead and clear this up,” he said in the video. “When I was a little kid, my mama was blasting some Beyoncé in the car. I’ve heard a ton of Beyonce songs and I actually remember her Super Bowl halftime show being pretty kick-a– back in the day. But I really don’t believe that her album should be labeled as country music. It doesn’t sound country, it doesn’t feel country, and I just don’t think that people that have dedicated their whole lives to this genre and this lifestyle should have to compete or watch that album just stay at the top, just because she’s Beyoncé.”

Billboard has reached out to Beyoncé’s rep for comment.

Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter has garnered both praise and criticism since it arrived last year, but also earned several impressive feats. The project won album of the year and best country album at the 2025 Grammy Awards, while the album’s “II Most Wanted” with Miley Cyrus earned best country duo/group performance. The album also topped the all-genre Billboard 200 for two weeks, marking Beyoncé’s eighth album to top that chart. Cowboy Carter also stayed at the pinnacle of the Top Country Albums chart for four weeks. The album’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” spent 10 weeks atop the Hot Country Songs chart, though the song didn’t fare as well on the radio-based Country Airplay chart, reaching No. 33.

One of Bey’s admirers includes country icon Dolly Parton, whose hit “Jolene” was covered on the album. “I’m a big fan of Beyonce and very excited that she’s done a country album,” Parton wrote on social media after “Texas Hold ‘Em’s” country chart feat. “So congratulations on your Billboard Hot Country number one single.”

Cowboy Carter featured an array of artists, including Black country music trailblazer Linda Martell, stars including Parton, Willie Nelson, Cyrus and Post Malone, and rising Black country artists including Brittney Spencer, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” hitmaker Shaboozey, Willie Jones, Reyna Roberts, Tiera Kennedy and Tanner Adell.

Meanwhile, Adcock has earned an RIAA-certified platinum single with his track “A Cigarette,” as well as RIAA-certified gold singles with “Four Leaf Clover,” “Run Your Mouth” and “Deep End.” His album My Own Worst Enemy will release in August, bolstered by already-released songs such as “Last One to Know,” “Never Call Again” and “Morning Bail.”

Adcock was arrested on May 21 in Wilson County, Tennessee, and charged with reckless driving, speeding, open container, driver’s license and registration violations. On July 11 and 12, he’ll open two shows on Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem Tour.

Sweet Nothings by Madison Griffiths

Nonfiction, Ultimo, $36.99

Relationships between university professors and their students often aren’t explicitly against the rules – but they aren’t quite right, either. For her second nonfiction book, Madison Griffiths spent a year interviewing four women who’d had relationships with their university teachers to hear how they feel about those romances now (spoiler alert: not good!) and explore the ethics around them.

It’s a personal topic for Griffiths: at age 21 she began dating her former uni tutor, a romance that, now aged 31, she has complicated feelings about. Don’t expect linear narratives; instead Griffiths has produced academic and often poetic meditations on sex, power and desire. – Katie Cunningham

Ruins by Amy Taylor

Fiction, Allen & Unwin, $32.99

A summer in Athens? Check. Millennial malaise? Check. A steamy affair that upends everything? Check. Amy Taylor’s second novel has all the hallmarks of popular contemporary fiction, imbued with her signature tenderness and intelligence. London couple Emma and Julian are at a crossroads, and welcome the younger Lena into their relationship. Her presence teases out some tricky questions, all while the stifling Greek heat reaches feverish, claustrophobic heights.

Taylor mixes literary musings with juicy plot twists and plenty of interpersonal drama – this is a moreish reading experience, the type of book you’ll want to gulp down in one breathless sitting. – Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen

What Kept You by Raaza Jamshed

Fiction, Giramondo, $32.95

Raaza Jamshed’s debut novel is short in length but layered with complex meaning. The narrative opens in death – literal and figurative – captured through the image of eucalyptus trees, which Jahan, the novel’s protagonist, has been told will regenerate. But, despite her pleas, no signs of life emerge from the seeds that she has painstakingly cared for.

This opening holds the promise of the novel as a whole – the deep poetry of the language, the complexity of the setting (under threat from bushfire), and the central themes of loss and regeneration. A powerful, promising new voice. – Bec Kavanagh

Modern Australian Baking by Christopher Thé

Cookbook, Hardie Grant, $60

If you don’t recognise Christopher Thé by name, you may recognise his famous creation: Black Star Pastry’s strawberry watermelon cake, or “Australia’s most Instagrammed cake” as the New York Times called it in 2019. Thé sold Black Star Pastry six years ago, opening Sydney cafe Hearthe with a new focus on baking with native Australian ingredients.

These 80 intricate recipes reflect his latest creations. There’s saltbush scones with desert lime marmalade, Illawarra plum clafoutis, Geraldton wax cheesecake and “flowering” wattleseed biscuits. Though there are easier projects, such as his 12-year-old daughter’s choc chip biscuits, it’s best suited to a confident baker. Those up to the challenge of making layered paperbark cake, with smoked chocolate ganache and blue gum salted caramel, will be rewarded with MasterChef-worthy desserts proudly rooted in Australian flavours. – Emma Joyce

The Immigrants by Moreno Giovannoni

Fiction, Black Inc, $36.99

Moreno Giovannoni’s The Immigrants is an intensely personal story following members of one Italian family living and working in Australia. After arriving from Tuscany in the mid-1950s, Ugo is determined to make the most of the plentiful work opportunities in agriculture. His wife, Morena, who is supposed to stay in Italy and wait for Ugo to return, sails to “the colony” to be with her husband. The pair move to rural Victoria, grow tobacco and are surrounded by a vibrant community of fellow immigrants.

This book is written with such tenderness and clarity, you’ll be instantly drawn into the suffering and joy of these lives. – Joseph Cummins

Cure by Katherine Brabon

Fiction, Ultimo, $34.99

Katherine Brabons’ Cure explores the social aspects of illness in the family with reflective poise. Vera and her adolescent daughter Thea both experience chronic pain and fatigue. Vera has an ambivalent relationship to traditional medicines, turning to an online community for possible cures and symptom relief, while Thea retreats into the private world of her journal.

In this gentle and unassuming narrative, the pair journey to Italy to seek an obscure man who promises to heal people of their illnesses – a trip Vera has taken before. Capturing the difficult intimacies between a mother and daughter, Cure questions the stories they tell about their bodies, wellness, healing and memory. – Isabella Gullifer-Laurie

The Occupation by Chloe Adams

Fiction, Penguin, $34.99

Chloe Adams’ debut novel draws on a seam of family history stretching back to the second world war and its brutal Pacific front. Twenty-nine-year-old Mary escapes looming spinsterhood and the banality of middle-class female life by enlisting as part of Australia’s postwar operations in Japan.

The novel opens in 1949 with Mary back home in Melbourne, pregnant but unmarried, then cuts to a year earlier as she arrives in Hiroshima prefecture. Adams’ writing is assured and absorbing as she conjures this new world through Mary’s eyes, and her interior life as illusions are eroded. Seventy-five pages in, it’s looking promising. – Dee Jefferson

Your Friend and Mine by Jessica Dettmann

Fiction, Allen & Unwin, $32.99

Your Friend and Mine is a sliding doors story in which Margot, a fortysomething restaurateur, is unexpectedly lifted out from her routine when a letter from a long-dead friend arrives.

The letter from Tess, Margot’s best friend 20 years prior, transports her to a time when their lives had seemed rich and full of potential. As a stipulation (or a provocation, perhaps) of her will, Tess invites Margot on a fully funded trip to the UK to meet her old friend’s family, and to finish Tess’s bucket list. Jessica Dettmann’s third novel balances humour and pathos with ease, as Margot undertakes a journey to reconnect with her old friend, and herself. – BK

It’s been a busy couple of months for Dierks Bentley with the release of his new Broken Branches album, a jam-packed tour schedule, a host of other projects, and making preparations to headline Nashville’s huge July 4^th celebration.

“The last ten years I’ve taken July 4^th off to be with my family out in the mountains,” Bentley explains. “But my kids are getting older and are off at camps and all over the place, so I thought, well, I’ll play a show this year. So, I’m doing the one in Nashville. I’ve always heard it’s a good time, so I’m going to come back here and be part of that.”

The annual Let Freedom Sing! extravaganza features a day full of live music and offers one of the largest fireworks shows in the country.

As he heads into July, Bentley has much to celebrate, including the release of his 11^th studio album earlier this month.

Broken Branches has collaborations with friends and fellow artists like Miranda Lambert, John Anderson, Riley Green, Stephen Wilson Jr, and is chock full of great songs. The list includes “Standing in the Sun,” “For As Long As I Can Remember,” “Never You” (with Lambert),and more.

“I leaned into the Nashville’s songwriting community more than ever,” Bentley says. “And I’m really proud of the writers on this album.”

John Anderson and Riley Green joins Bentley on the title track based on the premise that everyone is just a “little broken branch off the family tree.” Bentley says that’s especially true with Nashville’s close-knit music community.

“Everyone that moves to this town comes here to chase country music. They love the music whether it’s the business side of it or the creative side of it. And I love the idea of being broken branches off the family tree. It’s a collective story, but an individual story, too. I think of my own journey, the doubt, the uncertainty, you’re leaning on whiskey, you’re leaning on faith, and the heartbreak that goes into it.”

One of the more familiar songs on the album, thanks to its climb up the country charts is the quirky, upbeat “She Hates Me.” It’s one of those catchy, fun songs that have become part of Bentley’s signature style through the years.

“I love putting out fun music,” he says. “I have a history of that and it’s great for the live show. I like making people smile.”

The rest of the album, however, offers a much different feel with deeper, thoughtful songs like “Something Worth Fixing,” “Jesus Loves Me,” and “Cold Beer Can,” just to name a few.

“I wrote “Cold Beer Can” with Stephen Wilson Jr and almost wish I’d changed the title to something else,” Bentley says, “because the title makes you think it’s kind of like a bro country part song and it’s not that at all. It’s very Stephen Wilson Jr cerebral. My wife loves that song and just put it on this morning saying she thinks it’ll stand the test of time.”

While he realizes most people don’t listen to full albums anymore, Bentley still approaches creating one the same way he did in the early stages of his career.

“It’s like making a book. I want an album to have a beginning, middle, and an end, something I can look back on in ten years and remember the journey, of where I was in life, and what I wanted to say.”

One of the new songs that offers a warm, heartfelt look at where he is in life today is “Don’t Cry for Me.” The lyrics look back at so many things he’s grateful for in his own life, both personally and professionally. And while they specifically touch on his experiences, they reflect an overall life-personally that might serve as inspiration to others regarding the choices they make in their own lives.

“I wrote that song with my buddy, Jim Beavers and we wrote it old school Nashville-style, just sitting in my kitchen. Every line is very specific, very personal, and the whole message in general, is very true. I’m still touring and at the top of the game, things are going great, and I’m not done yet. But eventually things will slow down and when they do, I can say I’ve had a great run, loved the journey, and am so grateful to Nashville for all it’s given me.”

Bentley is definitely not slowing down any time soon. He’s currently crisscrossing the country on tour, with rising country star Zach Top as one of his opening acts, and he’s having the time of his life.

“When you’re on stage with your band and playing music and moving people with songs, there is nothing else like it. It’s literally unreplaceable. And this year, in particular, it’s really fun with Zach Top being out there.”

Bentley says Top is the “real deal” as an artist and performer.

“Not to put too much weight on his shoulders but I hope he’s the future of country music. It’d be great for all of us who love that kind of music. Zach is a once-in-a-generation type talent as far as singing and musicianship. I mean, he plays the guitar as well as anybody I’ve ever met.”

The Band Loula is also one of Bentley’s opening acts this tour. He says he consistently chooses groups and artists whose music he enjoys because he ends up watching their shows every night.

“I got turned on to The Band Loula this year and have become a huge fan. Logan and Malachi are from Northern Georgia, and the band is from Muscle Shoals, so they have a cool, swampy, kind of bluesy bluegrass sound. They’re awesome – very energetic, happy, fun people with huge voices.”

As busy as he’s been with the music, Bentley is also promoting his own brand of bourbon just released last year. It’s called ROW 94 and comes with “three ingredients and the truth.” Like all things Bentley, he put a lot of time, thought, and effort into creating it.

“You know, I’m really not trying to be busier than ever. Trust me, I don’t want to be doing all of this stuff. But ever since I’ve had a bar called Whiskey Row, I knew I needed my own whiskey. It’s ridiculous not to have your own whiskey in there.”

The idea of developing his own brand began more than a decade ago, but it wasn’t until COVID that he had the time to begin visiting distilleries and researching the best way to do it. He had some very specific criteria.

“It had to be at least four years old with between four and seven as the sweet spot,” he says. “I wanted to have something I would drink behind closed doors, as well as in public. I wanted it to be higher proof, it had to be under $40, and it had to be from Kentucky. If I had made this on my own it would retail for about $100 a bottle, but I was able to partner with Green River Distilling Company which meant I could get it out the door and onto shelves for under $40. And I feel that’s a fair price for my fans.”

For Bentley, the icing on the cake is Green River Distilling happens to be based in Owensboro, Kentucky, home to the Bluegrass Hall of Fame. His love of bluegrass music runs deep.

“From the very beginning our goal has always been to mix the bluegrass with the kickass,” he says. “We wanted to have the bluegrass instruments: the banjo, fiddle, mandolin, dobro, but also have the big electric guitars and drums and sounds. And I still try to chase that sound.”

More than two decades after bursting onto the country music scene with hits like “What Was I Thinkin”, “5-1-5-0,” “I Hole On,” and others, Bentley’s still adding his special blend of bluegrass, country, and sometimes a little rock, to the genre.

And as he works to maintain his own career, he’s determined to serve as a positive influence to up-and-coming artists, as well. Whether it comes from seeking out their talents as songwriters (his new album features two songs written by Stephen Wilson Jr), or their gifts as performers (inviting Zach Top and others joining him on the road), or simply encouraging them from afar.

“I’m really pulling for people like Stephen Wilson Jr,” Bentley says. “He’s a ridiculously strong songwriter and as a singer, he’s got so much pain in his voice. I’m pulling for him and people like Zach Top, Red Clay Strays, Ella Langley, and others. They’re up-and-comers and so good for this genre. I want to see people like that keep moving forward.”

Bentley performs in Nashville this Friday, then resumes his Broken Branches Tour which continues until the end of August.

LONDON — British police launched a criminal investigation Monday into a televised performance at the Glastonbury Festival by rap punk duo Bob Vylan, who drew intense criticism after they led crowds of music fans in chanting “death” to the Israeli military.

Meanwhile. the U.S. State Department said it has revoked the U.S. visas for Bob Vylan, who were set to go on tour in the United States later this year, after their “hateful tirade at Glastonbury.”

Rapper Bobby Vylan — who until the weekend was relatively little known — led crowds in chants of “free, free Palestine” and “death, death to the IDF” — the Israel Defense Forces — on Saturday at Britain’s biggest summer music festival.

The BBC said it regretted livestreaming the performance.

“The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves,” the broadcaster said, adding that it “respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and U.K. politicians condemned the chants, saying there was no excuse for such “appalling hate speech.”

Avon and Somerset Police said Bob Vylan’s performance, along with that by Irish-language band Kneecap, were now subject to a criminal investigation and have been “recorded as a public order incident.”

Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has inflamed tensions around the world, triggering pro-Palestinian protests in many capitals and on college campuses. Israel and some supporters have described the protests as antisemitic, while critics say Israel uses such descriptions to silence opponents.

Ofcom, the U.K.’s broadcasting regulator, said it was “very concerned” about the BBC livestream and said the broadcaster “clearly has questions to answer.”

The BBC said earlier in its defense that it had issued a warning on screen about “very strong and discriminatory language” during its livestream of Bob Vylan’s act.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said the visas for Bob Vylan’s two members — who both use stage names for privacy reasons — have been revoked.

“Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” Landau said in a social media post Monday.

Starmer said the BBC must explain “how these scenes came to be broadcast.”

Bob Vylan, which formed in 2017, have released four albums mixing punk, grime and other styles with lyrics that often address issues including racism, masculinity and politics.

In a statement posted on social media, singer Bobby Vylan said he was inundated with messages of both support and hatred.

“Teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place,” he wrote.

Bob Vylan performed on Saturday afternoon just before Kneecap, another band that has drawn controversy over its pro-Palestinian stance.

Kneecap led a huge crowd in chants of “Free Palestine” at the festival. They also aimed an expletive-laden chant at Starmer, who has said he didn’t think it was “appropriate” for Kneecap to play Glastonbury after one of its members was charged under the Terrorism Act.

Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged with supporting a proscribed organization for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London last year.

On Saturday a member of the group suggested fans “start a riot” outside his bandmate’s upcoming court appearance — though he then said “No riots, just love and support, and support for Palestine.”

The BBC had already taken a decision not to broadcast Kneecap’s Glastonbury performance live, though it did make available an unedited version of the set to its festival highlights page on BBC iPlayer service.

The Israeli Embassy to the U.K. said over the weekend it was “deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival.”

The acts were among among 4,000 that performed in front of some 200,000 music fans this year at the festival in southwest England.

Israel has faced heavy international criticism for its war conduct in Gaza. In May, the U.K., France and Canada issued a sharply worded statement calling for Israel to stop its “egregious” military actions in Gaza and criticizing Israel’s actions in the occupied West Bank.

More than 6,000 people have been killed and more than 20,000 injured in Gaza since Israel ended a ceasefire in March.

Since the war began in October 2023 with a Hamas attack on Israel, Israeli attacks have killed more than 56,000 people and injured 132,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants, but has said that women and children make up more than half the dead.

Israel says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, accusing the militants of hiding among civilians, because they operate in populated areas.

NEW YORK — Before his precipitous downfall, Sean “Diddy” Combs was a pop-culture supernova with innumerable stars in his orbit.

Like it or not, that’s part of the reason we’ve all been so glued to his criminal trial, as the once-untouchable music mogul awaits a verdict on five charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution.

It’s why journalists dashed breathlessly through the halls of Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse on June 13, in an attempt to catch a glimpse of rapper Ye as he made a fleeting appearance to show his solidarity with Combs. It’s also why dozens of social media influencers waited for nearly four hours in the pouring rain in the early morning hours of May 22, hoping to land a spot in the main courtroom as musician Kid Cudi testified about an alleged arson attack by Combs.

Throughout nearly two months of testimony, attorneys and witnesses alike have name-checked several celebrities as they’ve excavated nearly two decades of Combs’ apparent criminal past.

They’ve recounted nights of partying with Prince, Stevie Wonder, Muhammad Ali and Rita Ora, some of which ended in Combs allegedly assaulting his girlfriends or forcing them into “freak offs” with escorts. Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne and Rick Ross were referenced in court, as defense tried to highlight the powerful connections that Combs helped afford to his ex-lover, singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura Fine. Michael B. Jordan, 50 Cent and Suge Knight were all subjects of Combs’ ire, while Usher and Danity Kane’s Dawn Richard were both on the sidelines of allegedly violent incidents.

Lawyers for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs give closing arguments to jury

Sean “Diddy” Combs and his legal team were back in Manhattan court to plead his case to jurors in the sweeping federal sex-crimes probe.

Diddy trial bombshells: What his inner circle said about baby oil, ‘freak offs’

There were name drops that sparked dry amusement from reporters, too, like the revelation that Combs once had ecstasy pills shaped like the face of former President Barack Obama. Or that the rapper gave his staff an annual paid holiday on the Notorious B.I.G.’s birthday. (Checking into hotels, Combs often used the alias Frank Black ‒ a nod to Biggie Smalls’ nickname, Frank White.)

Combs’ lawyer also mentioned Beyoncé in his closing statement. “I don’t expect we’re going to see Beyoncé in CVS,” lead defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said as he argued Combs’ employees were not part of a criminal enterprise and that they instead were just doing their jobs.

Here are just a few of the most notable A-listers to find their way into the Diddy trial:

R. Kelly

“Mia,” a former assistant of Combs who testified under a pseudonym, told jurors that she had been abused and assaulted by the rapper throughout her employment. In a series of texts read aloud in court, she invoked the name of disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly, who is in prison following his own sex-crimes trial. 

Jurors saw an exchange from 2019, in which Mia wrote to Combs: “I had a nightmare. I was trapped in an elevator with R. Kelly and you came to rescue me.”

Leonardo DiCaprio

In a lengthy text that she sent Combs around 2020, Mia described some of their most “magical, hilarious” and “hysterical” memories together. One was of a night in Paris when Mick Jagger tried to take her home; another was of a night when Jennifer Lopez wouldn’t stay out.

Mia also referenced a high-stakes poker game between the hip-hop mogul and DiCaprio. She wrote that Combs said, while cursing: “That ‘Titanic’ (guy) doesn’t know (anything). He won $10,000, I won $650,000.”

What to expect: Diddy trial is ending, jury deliberation underway

Chadwick Boseman

In a message from August 2020, Mia texted Combs, “Thinking of you with Chadwick Boseman,” following the actor’s death. Mia said on the stand that Combs was “auditioning for the role” of James Brown in the “Get On Up” biopic that Boseman ended up playing. In a text exchange shown to jurors, Mia told Combs that she had his audition tape and would send it to him.

Brad Pitt

Mia alleged that in 2012 she witnessed a discussion between Combs and Ventura Fine escalate at the premiere of the Brad Pitt film “Killing Them Softly,” during the Cannes Film Festival in France.She claimed she saw Combs grit his teeth while digging his nails into Ventura Fine’s arm, and eventually insisted that Ventura Fine leave, which she did.

Chelsea Handler

On the stand, Mia said that over the years, she saw Combs take molly, MDMA, ketamine and prescription drugs. Although she said it was “mostly in party situations,” she once claimed to see him high at a board meeting. On another occasion, she alleged that he was so high at a Chelsea Handler show that she pulled him aside. “You look a little crazy right now,” Mia told Combs.

More: All the witnesses who took the stand in the Diddy trial, including Cassie and Kid Cudi

Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston

On the stand, Combs’ ex-personal assistant Capricorn Clark was asked whether she thought Ventura Fine was “very talented.” Clark responded “no,” adding that she thought the rising R&B star merely had “talent.”

“Very talented to me is Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey,” Clark told jurors. “Very talented is that level of performer, entertainer. Cassie was more of a studio artist.”

Bruce Willis and Eddie Murphy

During Ventura Fine’s lengthy testimony, jurors saw a text that she sent to Combs in July 2013. At the time, she had been dating Combs for roughly seven years, and expressed frustration that she wasn’t integrated more into his family life with his children.

“As much as you think you’re Bruce Willis, you aren’t,” Ventura Fine texted Combs. “He’s married, and before he was married, the family as a whole went on trips together or just him and his woman.”

“Eddie Murphy and Paige (Butcher) took his kids away on their own,” the message continued. “I don’t think you sympathize with my feelings. I understand you feeling like you need to protect your children. But after a while, it’s like, for what?”

Surviving abuse: Cassie Ventura Fine and the unlikely bond with her mother-in-law

Keke Palmer

Kerry Morgan, a model and former friend of Ventura Fine, testified that Combs once attacked her in Cassie’s California home, choking her and hitting her in the head with a wooden hanger. She also told the court she saw Combs assault Ventura Fine several times, and she pleaded with her friend to leave the rapper.

During cross-examination, the defense showed a number of photos of Morgan and Ventura Fine hanging out with groups of people. One snapshot included Morgan, stylist Deonte Nash, producer Rob Holiday, and “Nope” actress Keke Palmer. Defense asked whether they all had fun together: “We had a lot of fun,” Morgan said. “We look like a loving bunch,” although “I didn’t love all these people.”

Shaq, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan

On the stand, Combs’ ex “Jane,” who also testified under a pseudonym, said that she, Combs and one of the escorts they allegedly hired used the nickname “trifecta” when they had sex. Jane claimed she was Kobe Bryant; Paul, the entertainer, was Shaquille O’Neal; and Combs was Michael Jordan. 

Jurors were also read a series of flirty text messages between Jane and Combs, where she likens their relationship to the NBA legends. In the exchange, Jane thanks Combs for making “me very happy” and giving “me so much love.”

“You’re my Michael Jordan and I’m your Kobe Bryant,” Jane texted Combs. “We’re the greatest.”

More: Diddy’s defense claims he was just ‘swinging.’ These swingers are appalled.

Pamela Anderson

In another frisky text exchange read aloud to jurors during testimony, Jane compared herself to former Playboy models.

“It’s giving Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra,” Jane texted Combs, adding two melon emojis.

Jane frequently referenced famous figures in her text messages to Combs. Some of their other nicknames for each other: Bert and Ernie from “Sesame Street.”

Chris Brown

In court, Combs’ attorneys pressed Ventura Fine about a time when the hip-hop heavyweight suspected she was cheating on him.

“He found out you were dancing with another person in the entertainment industry? Do you remember the incident where he suspected you of dancing with Chris Brown?” defense asked, referencing an unspecified occasion in 2013. Ventura Fine said she did not remember the incident, but she “was not dancing” with the singer.

Defense showed an exhibit to help jog Ventura Fine’s memory of a time when Combs allegedly took the “Me & U” singer’s phone after he suspected her of dancing with Brown. After looking at the evidence, Ventura Fine said, “It says that in the message, but I don’t really remember it.”

Ventura Fine is close friends with Karrueche Tran, the actress and model who won a five-year restraining order against ex-boyfriend Brown in 2017.

Diddy lawyer Marc Agnifilo compares ‘freak offs’ to couples drinking lemonade

Every celebrity mentioned in Diddy trial

• Cassie
• Beyoncé
• Rihanna
• Michael B. Jordan
• Barack Obama
• Georgina Chapman
• Mike Myers
• Will Smith
• DJ Whoo Kid
• Dallas Austin
• 50 Cent
• Suge Knight
• Prince
• Usher
• Britney Spears
• Common
• Madonna
• Jimmy Iovine
• Dawn Richard
• Kalenna Harper
• Kid Cudi
• French Montana
• Too Short
• Chris Brown
• Biggie Smalls
• Ryan Leslie
• Brad Pitt
• Keke Palmer
• Pamela Anderson
• Carmen Electra
• Whitney Houston
• Mariah Carey
• Chris Gethard
• Jay-Z
• Michael Jordan
• Kobe Bryant
• Shaquille O’Neal
• Bruce Willis
• Eddie Murphy
• Leonardo DiCaprio
• Mick Jagger
• Jennifer Lopez
• Chelsea Handler
• R. Kelly
• Chadwick Boseman
• Rita Ora
• Nicki Minaj
• Lil Wayne
• Yung Miami

Contributing: USA TODAY staff

An anticipated Paris show presenting Dior’s latest men’s collection, set to be released in 2026, and the first designed under ex-Loewe’s Jonathan Anderson direction, made subtle nods to European art and culture.

Dior presented its latest men’s collection at the Invalides, a museum complex centered on French military history, using a large black-and-white image of Christian Dior’s original salon as a backdrop. The display, which stretched across the entrance, was meant to signal the 80-year-old brand’s historic connection to French culture. 

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The Dior Homme’s 2026 Spring/Summer collection was the first designed by Anderson after taking up the position last month. He is now overseeing men’s and women’s designs at the house, the first designer in the house’s history to hold both roles simultaneously. 

In the Paris show, Anderson, avoiding dramatic changes, mixed some of Dior’s heritage with the present, as first reported by critic Vanessa Friedman of the New York Times. Friedman wrote that the collection meshed “formal and casual, historic and contemporary,” while according to Dazed, Anderson was centering the “aristocrat,” as the show’s main concept, using 18th century European art and English tailoring to deliver the message.

Dazed also noted that the show’s stage was designed to mimic visuals from older museum exhibitions that use velvet as wallpaper, including the Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie gallery and New York’s Frick collection, both holding European art collections.

The Paris show drew from that design choice, covering the Invalides’ interior walls with off-white velvet, and hanging two paintings by 18th century French still-life artist Jean Siméon Chardin that were loaned from the National Galleries of Scotland and the Louvre.

Prior to the debut show, Anderson’s art references were leaking through online. Earlier this month, Dior published famous photographs of social and artistic royalty from Anderson’s “mood board,” on social media: separate polaroids of Lee Radizwill, an American-European princess and fixture in aristocratic circles, and painter Jean Michel-Basquiat, both subject of Andy Warhol.

Radizwill’s connection to Dior’s history began in the 1960s under the label’s then-creative director, Marc Bohan, who used her as a muse. (A 1977 silk robe designed by Bohan, gifted by Radizwill, is in the Met’s collection.)

Anderson’s first women’s collection will be presented in September.

F1: The Movie has been in theaters for just under a week, and early tallies are in: It smashed box office expectations by netting $144 million in its worldwide debut. 

The impressive figure means F1 is the most successful Apple Original film in history, as well as Brad Pitt’s most successful film launch.

F1: The Movie makes global waves in debut

Hailed as being the must-see blockbuster of the summer, F1: The Movie has just completed its first weekend in theaters, and it has been rewarded with stunning success — particularly for a racing movie.

The film debuted at No. 1 on American domestic box office charts, netting $55.6 million in the US alone. It also made $88.4 million internationally, bringing its debut weekend total to $144 million.

That makes this movie the most successful film launch of star actor Brad Pitt’s career, which is an impressive feat for a man with such a diverse resumé under his belt. It’s also the best market debut for an Apple Original Films movie; the company’s previous top debut was Killers of the Flower Moon, which made $23.2 million on opening.

More on the F1 movie:

👉 Six things about the F1 movie that make it a must-see

👉 Brad Pitt F1 movie: An insider’s complete guide to the F1 film

Motorsport-related films often struggle to make waves in the box office, which makes F1‘s success a compelling case study. Recent films like Ford v Ferrari only netted $52 million globally, while 2013’s Rush brought home $100 million.

And with America’s Independence Day holiday approaching this weekend, potential viewers of F1: The Movie who weren’t able to attend opening weekend will likely have the time to do so soon.

While $144 million is an impressive figure for a debut film, F1: The Movie will need to sell far more tickets in order to break even. Vulture estimates that the film cost around $250 million to film, while its advertising and promotion campaign cost an additional $150 to $175 million — and with ticket sales split between the theaters and the production company, some estimates have claimed F1 will need to net over a billion dollars to break even. However, Apple’s film model also relies heavily on streaming success through AppleTV+, which can build revenue for years to come.

Still, the film’s initial success had proved several things. It showed that Apple Original Films can produce a box-office success. It developed innovative filming techniques that could even transform the way motorsport is broadcast. It also proved that, with the right amount of hype and promotion, a racing film can branch out to new audiences.

Reviews of F1: The Movie have been mixed, with critics pointing out everything from its obvious product placement to its clunky plot, and motorsport fans noting that much of the movie hinges on racing sequences that are both unrealistic and that would also justify a driver being banned from the sport.

Still, many viewers have praised its top-notch editing and immersive film style. Over on film review website Rotten Tomatoes, F1: The Movie has netted an 83% rating on its “Tomatometer,” which means that 83% of verified user reviews for the film are positive. It has also earned a “Certified Fresh” status, meaning it has netted strong reviews.

Further, the website also rates films based on something called the “Popcornmeter,” which evaluates reviews for all users, not just verified users. F1: The Movie has earned a 97% rating on that metric, which means most fans have given the movie a 3.5-star rating or higher.

The long-term impact of the film is impossible to know at this point, but those involved with its release are hoping it will engage a new set of fans in much the same way that Netflix’s docuseries Drive to Survive did.

Read next: How many penalty points would F1 movie star Sonny Hayes have got in real life?

Whenever Beyoncé performs in her native Houston, her return creates a rippling homecoming effect across the city. That’s less of a reference to the tour de force singer and songwriter’s 2019 live album and documentary concert film of the same name, but more a nod to true-to-life, Lone Star State homecoming traditions.

The scene outside of NRG Stadium over the weekend for the two-night run of Cowboy Carter shows was nothing short of a pep rally. Texas-sized chrysanthemum corsages were on parade, embellished with ribbons and decorative spirit trinkets, pinned at the shoulder (down South, we call them mums). Red, white, and blue silk sashes sliced through crowds, too, customized to riff on the Grammy Award-winning (Best Country Album, anyone?) record cover. And because June 28 serendipitously doubled as International LGBTQI+ Pride Day, a gulf of self-described queens rounded out this metaphoric homecoming court.

Beyoncé’s past and present onstage fashion inspired street style looks laden with Easter eggs. A number of outfits paid homage to the inaugural NFL 2024 Christmas Day Halftime Show, apropos-dubbed BeyBowl, for the Houston Texas vs. Baltimore Ravens game, which also took place at NRG. Many a concertgoer drew from the furry, feathered, and rhinestone-flecked all-white western wear that stylist and costume designer Shiona Turini produced for Cowboy Carter Christmas. Others paid tribute to classic Americana, with patriotic flags waving through Levi’s or Wrangler denim belt loops.

For Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo competitors, such as sister barrel racers Leah and Elizabeth Zadel, it was an occasion to layer functional cowgirl gear with couture.

“These are Stella McCartney jeans that I saved up for, for a long time with the Ariat boots I always wear,” Leah told Vogue. “And my sister got the idea for her pants from Beyoncé’s custom Schiaparelli Haute Couture outfit for the tour. She sewed on all those conchos after she couldn’t find anything similar and thought, ‘Why not make it myself?’”

Outside of Queen Bey’s hometown hoedown, Vogue photographed some of the most inventive and inspiring looks.

Arturo Valenzuela: “I really went off of her Christmas [halftime show] outfits. With everything going on in the world right now I thought, ‘Let me show up and show out.’ I thought the white really pops on my skin tone. And my sash was made by a designer I found on TikTok.”